OTTAWA - Thereís plenty of talk about Sidney Crosby being the NHLís most valuable player. You can toss names like John Tavares, Jonathan Toews, Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Ovechkin into the mix.

But what about Senators goalie Craig Anderson? Like Crosby, he missed time with an injury. Like Crosby, heís been the best at his position (those who have seen Bobrovsky stand on his head for the Columbus Blue Jackets might argue this).

Early in the year, when the Senators really needed him ó with Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Jared Cowen all down with injuries, Anderson answered the bell in a big way ... with eye-popping numbers. The Senators didnít need to worry so much about the loss of goal production, because not much was getting past Anderson. As the season steamed into its final week of the regular season, Anderson was still No. 1 in save percentage and goals-against average.